Computer upgrade...

System:
Mainboard : Asus M2NPV-MX
Chipset : nVidia nForce 410
Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ @ 2100 MHz
Physical Memory : 2048 MB (2 x 1024 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Hard Disk : ST325082 (250 GB)
Hard Disk : WDC (500 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : Optiarc DVD RW AD-5170A ATA Device
DVD-Rom Drive : RYZULSL 1QZ8LAF SCSI CdRom Device
Monitor Type : Samsung SyncMaster - 22 inches
Operating System : Windows Vista (TM) Home Basic Home Edition 6.00.6002 Service Pack 2
DirectX : Version 11.00
Windows Performance Index : 4.8 on 5.9 (This is wierd, because my experience index says 5.1...)

My budget is on 1500kr, and 1 dollar is eh.. 6,5kr. 1500kr multiplied by 0,157= 235.5 USD... My budget is on 235 USD

You can get that all for $235 US ?

System:
Mainboard : Asus M2NPV-MX
Chipset : nVidia nForce 410
Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ @ 2100 MHz
Physical Memory : 2048 MB (2 x 1024 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Hard Disk : ST325082 (250 GB)
Hard Disk : WDC (500 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : Optiarc DVD RW AD-5170A ATA Device
DVD-Rom Drive : RYZULSL 1QZ8LAF SCSI CdRom Device
Monitor Type : Samsung SyncMaster - 22 inches
Operating System : Windows Vista (TM) Home Basic Home Edition 6.00.6002 Service Pack 2
DirectX : Version 11.00
Windows Performance Index : 4.8 on 5.9 (This is wierd, because my experience index says 5.1...)

My budget is on 1500kr, and 1 dollar is eh.. 6,5kr. 1500kr multiplied by 0,157= 235.5 USD... My budget is on 235 USD

You can get that all for $235 US ?

No, that is what I already have...

[kingloser]

ok i think we can work with $235. what kind of speed on the ram. a quick check of kingston ddr2 ram brings up speeds of 533 mhz = pc4200, 667mhz = pc 5300 or pc5400, 800mhz = pc6400,1066mhz = pc8500. cuz well need this info to find a compatible motherboard and probably grab a 3rd gig of memory. im not a fan of 2 gigs. this is of course assuming ur OS only recognizes 3 gigs max. what bit do you have 32 or 64? itll prob be a squeeze for only 235 but well look around and see what we can find.

ok i think we can work with $235. what kind of speed on the ram. a quick check of kingston ddr2 ram brings up speeds of 533 mhz = pc4200, 667mhz = pc 5300 or pc5400, 800mhz = pc6400,1066mhz = pc8500. cuz well need this info to find a compatible motherboard and probably grab a 3rd gig of memory. im not a fan of 2 gigs. this is of course assuming ur OS only recognizes 3 gigs max. what bit do you have 32 or 64? itll prob be a squeeze for only 235 but well look around and see what we can find.

I have 32 bit...

ok i think we can work with $235. what kind of speed on the ram. a quick check of kingston ddr2 ram brings up speeds of 533 mhz = pc4200, 667mhz = pc 5300 or pc5400, 800mhz = pc6400,1066mhz = pc8500. cuz well need this info to find a compatible motherboard and probably grab a 3rd gig of memory. im not a fan of 2 gigs. this is of course assuming ur OS only recognizes 3 gigs max. what bit do you have 32 or 64? itll prob be a squeeze for only 235 but well look around and see what we can find.

I have 32 bit...

If you only have 32 bit there is ways to well... "borrow" 64 bits

[kingloser]

thats cool i was running 32 bit vista on my other comp. did u find out the speed of ur ram?

Open up PCWizard (the program I linked in my earlier post), then click on Mainboard, and then click your RAM. The screenshot should help. Copy and paste all the stuff in the yellow circle.

Manufacturer : Kingston
Part Number : K
Serial Number : 61347134
Type : DDR2-SDRAM PC2-3200 (200 MHz) - [DDR2-400]
Format : Regular UDIMM (133,35 x 3)
Size : 1024 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)

Well the bottom line is:
You have an older model motherboard. If you want to upgrade to a 'modern' computer that supports all the latest games and their requirements, you'll have to get the latest available (a mobo that supports AMD AM2/3 or Intel Core 2 Duo / Quad / iSeries. Older models of a few years ago, while cheap will be hard to find (brand new at least - but I'd recommend never getting any used or refurbished device either)

Look into getting either a 1156 intel socket mobo for intel i5's or lower i7 models, or AM3 mobos. I know theres a few AM3 mobos out right now that have usb 3.0 support, so look into those.

Well the bottom line is:
You have an older model motherboard. If you want to upgrade to a 'modern' computer that supports all the latest games and their requirements, you'll have to get the latest available (a mobo that supports AMD AM2/3 or Intel Core 2 Duo / Quad / iSeries. Older models of a few years ago, while cheap will be hard to find (brand new at least - but I'd recommend never getting any used or refurbished device either)

Look into getting either a 1156 intel socket mobo for intel i5's or lower i7 models, or AM3 mobos. I know theres a few AM3 mobos out right now that have usb 3.0 support, so look into those.

I'll agree but unfortunately our friend's budget will not allow for all that. Any of the newer processors are going to run you at least $100 alone, then add in a new mobo and RAM and it's going to be hard to stay on budget. He needs more money.

[kingloser]

well it looks ur gonna need a tad more money. i would suggest seeing if you could line up a buyer for ur current mobo/cpu/mem combo. u might be able to find someone whod grab it for maybe $100-150 if ur lucky. then that would mean u could do around $365 for upgrades. and for a whole combo im pretty sure hes gonna have to go amd. i cant find a goodly priced quad core intel. there is a decent amd quad core 620 propus (over 300 reviews and nothing below 4 out of 5 stars). now that being said it isnt gonna be the fastest thing out there but should be good enough for what he needs. and i cant remem but does his 32 bit OS support 4 gigs? i cant remem which ones do and dont. if it doesnt support 4 gigs hes definately gonna need more money. i couldnt find any sticks of 512 so he cant go 3 gigs. unless he can find them somewhere online (which with searching he prob could)

Yeah, but my actual question was whenever upgrading my memory will help as much as upgrading my CPU... Cuz i reaally dont have that much money to spend on my computer.. What do guys think of buying used? I also have an old Nvidia 7600 GT that i also can sell, but I havent got anyplace to sell it. Relly apreciating ur help :D

[kingloser]

well u could only really upgrade a hair on the memory if u kept ur current setup. i would say on a scale of 1-10 that ur current memory would realistically be a 3.5. and ur board would only support upgrading to a memory level of 4 since it can only take ddr2 800mhz memory. since 6-7 and above would be higher end ddr3 memory. but if ur looking purely for gaming performance im not sure which would help more cuz bc2 is gpu intensive. when im just surfing the net my gpu load is only 1-2% when i play bc2 my gpu load is like 80-90% and thats on a 260 gtx. but if u want the all around performance the cpu/mobo upgrade will definately help there. so it all comes down to exactly what u want.

Yeah. So u say that I can not upgrade any more without changing the mobo?

[kingloser]

unfortunately thats what it looks like. however u r able to play bc2 so u might just wanna keep saving up so u can do a solid rebuild in the future.